


Rule 63 Alec

by theonetruenorth



Series: Shadowhunters headcanons [2]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Embedded Images, F/M, Fluff, Genderbending, Romance, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 05:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6502270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonetruenorth/pseuds/theonetruenorth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She is right, the contents of the box make her breath catch and for one scary moment she can’t inhale at all, her lungs refusing to let in any more air. She squeezes her eyes shut, sits down on the floor at the side of her bed and forces herself to breathe.</p><p>This is how Izzy finds her half an hour later, still quietly freaking out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rule 63 Alec

  
 

Alex is at loss.

She looks down at the package that arrived for her at the Institute and she knows.She just _knows_ that what’s inside is going to make her heart skip a beat with both anxiety and excitement, measured out in equal parts.

She reaches for the box, flips the lid up cautiously as if she’s expecting a spider demon to pop up from underneath and slowly, carefully, peels away the layers of soft, creme-colored tissue paper.

And she is right, the contents of the box make her breath catch and for one scary moment she can’t inhale at all, her lungs refusing to let in any more air. She squeezes her eyes shut, sits down on the floor at the side of her bed and forces herself to breathe.

This is how Izzy finds her half an hour later, still quietly freaking out.

Izzy knows the reason for the panic, or course. The Lightwood sisters are close - maybe not as close as Izzy would like to be, but she knows Alex pretty damn well.

She knows that everything that Alex does, she does for her and Jace and Max, for them to be happy and free and able to do whatever they want. She’s the oldest, the responsible one, the one who is groomed to take the mantle of a leader after their parents. Izzy might not be much younger, but thanks to her sister no one tried to tame her spirit like they do with Alex - not too much, at least.

But because of the training that commenced from a very young age, because of the pressure that weighs on her shoulders every day, Alex had little time to do anything else. She doesn’t know about fashion, about make-up (other than the minimal amount of knowledge that Izzy forced on her when they were younger) and most of all... she doesn’t know anything about romance.

Which is why the simple fact that Magnus wants to take her out somewhere nice made her stutter like a fool when he asked her. She tried to deflect the attention by saying she doesn’t have anything appropriate to wear, but he had a solution for that as well.

Izzy takes a peek inside the box still on Alex’s bed and her eyes widen a little. The dress is obviously expensive, way above what they could afford and that’s probably another reason why Alex feels like the walls are closing in on her. Neither she nor Izzy expect gifts outside of special occasions like birthdays or Christmas. And luxurious gifts? Even less so. Shadowhunters don’t have much use for things that have no practical application.

Izzy sighs, leans down to tug Alex up from her spot on the floor, hugs her sister with all her might and then gets to work. Alex is helpless, really, just following Izzy’s lead as the younger girl messes around with her hair and her make-up, puts her in a dress and matching shoes, kisses her on a cheek and then promptly kicks her out of the Institute.

Alex is still a nervous wreck as she texts Magnus that she’s ready and sure enough, it only takes a moment before the energy of a portal cracks up near her and he steps out of it.

He is handsome as ever, maybe even more so, with a fitted suit and jacket in off-white and dress shirt. His hair is styled to perfection with gel and glitter and - as Alex suspects - probably an unfair amount of magic.

He sees her and stops in his tracks like someone put a petrifying spell on him and Alex bites her lip, fidgeting in her spot. Then she remembers about her lipstick and promptly releases it, but the quiet, desperate anxiety blooming in her chest doesn’t go away.

She thinks she probably looks like a fool. Like a child that tried to wear her mother’s clothes and ended up a mess, a fake illusion of adulthood that could only be laughed at.

The dress is made of ivory fabric just a tone darker than her skin that hugs her every curve, covering her neckline and arms to hide the runes from onlookers. At the waist the color cuts off into deep azure, reaching down to her knees, and the waistline is accented with dozens of flowers, both embroidered and sewed on, curving around her side and hip in an asymmetric wave. Her shoes aren’t very high, only wide kitten heels that have silver vines wrapped around them for decoration. Alex thinks Izzy was right with assuming she would break both of her legs if she had to wear pumps.

She stares at Magnus. He stares back, his face still stuck in an expression that could be nothing but surprise - or shock - and Alex is literally one second away from bolting and running back inside the Institute.

She’s turning already, throat tight with shame and humiliation, but then a large, warm hand catches her wrist and she turns back, eyes downcast as she fights to compose herself. Magnus is having none of it though, his other hand reaching up to lightly grasp her chin and turn her face up, forcing her to look at him.

Somehow, in a span of that second when she missed him, his face changed from surprise to something else, something more. He is looking at her with such amount of adoration, so much passion that her breath catches and she can’t look away. The hand previously holding her chin shifts until he can cup her cheek, mindful of the carefully pinned hairstyle that Izzy did for her, her hair a cascade of locks that frame one side of her face.

He looks utterly infatuated, his eyes shining with love and warmth and longing. Alex wants to look away but really, she can’t even blink - she doesn’t want to miss one second.

“You look like an angel.” He whispers, raising her hand to his lips and placing a light, chivalrous kiss on her knuckles.She shivers. The next kiss in brushed against her lips and her eyes slip shut as she breathes him in. He touches her so gently, so sweetly, like she is made of glass, like she’s something delicate and exquisite and deserving all this idolization.

He doesn’t stop looking at her all throughout the dinner and she feels warm, and safe and happy and it’s all rush of emotions she doesn’t get to experience on everyday basis. Only, that is not exactly true. Ever since she met Magnus she feels those things more, the metaphorical butterflies in her belly, every time Magnus smiles at her, or kisses her, or calls her beautiful.

This... this open affection and exaltation is visible in Magnus’ every move. She never thought she would get to have this, not with the future that is spread out before her, but as she looks into Magnus’ eyes and sees nothing but love and wonder and delight she thinks that yes, maybe she deserves to have this after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Before you start pointing out that Malec is all about them being gay for each other - please read the conversations in comments. This series of fics has over 20 parts already and this is the ONLY one where Alec has switched gender. If you don't like it then don't read it and/or pass it up on your way to the next part. I'm all for constructive criticism but I'm not going to tolerate negativity just for sake of stirring shit up.
> 
> My cast for female Alec is Katie McGrath.
> 
> Every fic in this series is first posted to my tumblr and I upload it to AO3 with a delay. If you want to read my stories as soon as I finish them, follow me there: theonetruenorth.tumblr.com
> 
> Beta-read by wonderful [brizzbee](http://brizzbee.tumblr.com/)


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